Night had arrived, and the main event of the Sacred Tree Festival had begun.
The plaza at the center of Rigforeshia was beautifully decorated and packed with people.
I’m not sure if it’s because the hunting tournament was canceled this year or because I was the only one who came out on top, but a lot of people flocked to my side.
Honestly, with so many people around, I was hoping I could blend in and go unnoticed… but, of course, they spotted me right away because of the medal on my chest.
[Congratulations on your win, you did great… By the way, my daughter is about your age…]
[No, err…]
For some reason, an adult male elf is desperately trying to set me up with his daughter…
[Umm, I’m heading to the royal capital… Would you like to have dinner with me sometime…?]
[Huh? Eh?]
A young female elf, her cheeks flushed red, invites me to dinner…
[Miyama-sama… a caterpillar like me… was foolish enough to challenge you. Please accept my apologies.]
[…I don’t even know who you are.]
And, for some reason, a female elf who seems to be a Spirit Mage kneels before me as soon as we meet…
Anyway, things quickly became overwhelming, and I, flustered, had no idea how to handle them.
But then… someone I never expected came to my rescue.
[How rude! Don’t talk to Master so casually, or I’ll tear you to pieces!!!]
[………………….]
Yes, this is where Anima came in. She made a grand entrance and, like a breakwater, held off the people rushing at me like a tsunami.
Yep… a few people might’ve gotten knocked around here and there, but it’s really a relief that the barrage of questions finally stopped.
[Thanks, Anima. You really saved me there. I’d appreciate it if you kept things more moderate, but please keep it up.]
[Master… Yes! This unworthy Anima will do everything in her duty!!!]
I’m not sure if she was happy with the praise, but she smiled at me like a flower blooming, then turned away the people closing in with even more enthusiasm… though it did seem like the number of people getting beaten up was increasing. Did she miss my point about moderation? Ah, another person just flew off…
Thanks to Anima’s efforts… well, more like her rampage, I finally made my way to greet the elven big shots.
As I expected, because of Lillywood-san, they all treated me warmly, and our greeting went smoothly.
[Kaitokun-san! Congratulations on your win~~]
[Thank you very much, Raz-san.]
Raz-san threw her congratulatory words at me, and I returned the thanks.
That’s when I suddenly realized that I couldn’t find Neun-san, who was supposed to be here with Raz-san at the Sacred Tree Festival.
[Ummm, Raz-san. Where’s Neun-san?]
[…Well, Neun-san’s been acting strange again.]
[Eh? What happened?]
[I’m not really sure, but after she cheered up on the first day of the Sacred Tree Festival, she’s had these weird moments… Look, there she is! Neun! Over here!]
It seems Neun-san had been acting odd, and when I asked about it, Raz-san glanced over and called out to someone.
Turning in the direction she indicated, I saw Neun-san hiding in the shadow of a building.
When Neun-san spotted us, despite her armor, she moved awkwardly, clearly flustered. After a moment, she slowly walked over to us.
[Neun-san?]
[!? K-K-Kaito-san, g-g-good morning!]
[…It’s actually night right now, though.]
[C-C-Congratulations on your v-v-victory!]
[Y-Yes… Thank you. Umm, Neun-san, are you okay?]
[Yesh!?]
Something was definitely off. Neun-san was acting different—she seemed panicked and was fumbling over her words.
What’s going on? Is she not feeling well, or is there something else?
[Neun-san, are you sick or something…?]
[Awawa, Kai-Kaito-san, your face is too close… e-ex…]
[Ex?]
[Excuse me!!!]
[Ehh? Wait, Neun-san!?]
Worried, I took a step closer, but that made Neun-san even more flustered… and she bolted off at an incredible speed.
After she ran off, the remaining Raz-san and I tilted our heads at each other.
[……Neun-san, seriously, what’s going on?]
[I dunno, it’s just that ever since we met Kaitokun-san, she’s been muttering these weird things, like “premarital diskashons” or “weding.”]
Weding? A wedding? No, talking about marriage out of the blue doesn’t make sense here, so she must have meant something else.
Hmm, I’m concerned about her, but… for now, I’ll leave her to Raz-san. I still need to continue greeting everyone, so I exchanged a few words with Raz-san before we went our separate ways.
Away from the lively, noisy atmosphere of Rigforeshia, I’m now walking through the Spirits’ Forest alone.
It seems the spirits have their own customs, so instead of the usual swarm of spirits that approach me during the day, there are only a few around now, quietly guiding me.
As I follow their lead through the forest, I come upon a shrine… or rather, a cave.
[This is even more…]
It turned out to be a much more difficult place to sleep than I had imagined.
Stepping inside, I see a round hole in the ceiling where moonlight pours through, creating a surreal, almost magical scene, while the spirits stand along the walls of the shrine.
It seems they really have a lot of customs, as a large number of spirits are neatly lined up inside this spacious shrine, standing perfectly still, staring straight at me.
Huh? What am I supposed to do now… Should I just walk into the middle and lie down?
Perhaps this is meant to be a way to show the spirits the face of the winner.
I’ve seen Lillywood-san lead a mountain of spirits around, but seeing this many spirits together should be a rare and valuable experience.
As I glance around at the shrine, bathed in moonlight, I shift my focus to the ground and let out a sigh.
Yep, putting aside the grandeur of the scene around me… as a modern kid, I’m really struggling to figure out where I’m supposed to sleep.
The floor’s made of dirt… Yeah, it should’ve been obvious I wouldn’t be sleeping in a bed, but a patch of sand.
Should I be relieved it’s not made of something hard, like stone? Or maybe I should just keep wondering how the heck I ended up in this situation…
[My body’s going to be stiff after sleeping here… It’s going to be tough, even with my blanket…]
[Then, how about we lay down a tatami?]
[Yeah, you’re right, I’d really appreciate some tatami… Eh?]
[Unnn?]
I thought I was just muttering to myself as I slumped my shoulders, but for some reason, I heard a reply.
Spirits can’t speak… but that voice, it sounded oddly familiar. More than just familiar, actually—I think I’ve been hearing it almost every day.
[…Why are you here, Kuro?]
[Ehehe, I came along.]
Kuro answered with a bashful smile on her face.
That expression of hers, though, seemed to glow in the moonlight.
Dear Mom, Dad—As the winner of the harvest festival, I’ll be spending the night in the Spirits’ Forest. And then, for some reason—Kuro came along.